


Strip Poker

by SpookshowBabyx



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-01-18 21:29:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1443589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookshowBabyx/pseuds/SpookshowBabyx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spying lights on at the Station after hours, Regina decides to investigate. Discovering Emma and Ruby playing a risqué game of cards while intoxicated, she challenges the Sheriff to explain the rules; the resultant display ultimately leaving her rather more hung up on Emma than she'd like.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A birthday present for a friend for the prompt 'Strip Poker'.

The Mayor pulls up into an empty space outside the Station with a frown. She had been on her way home, but spotting the lights glowing from the high, cell-block windows of the ordinarily sleepy building in front of her has peaked her interest.

The Sheriff is  _not_  one to stay late, whatever business needs doing.

"Unless that pathetic flake of a woman has finally tired of you, _too_ , dear."

Somehow, she doesn't think Mary Margaret kicking Emma out will be the case- the school teacher forever doting on the blonde in a most  _repulsive_  fashion- which begs the question of just what the younger woman could be up to so late at the Station.

_Why so curious in the Swan woman all of a sudden?_

She rolls her eyes at this inner thought and purses her lips irritably. She has recently found herself questioning her motives when it comes to the Sheriff, as she can't help but feel that a worrying amount of her time is consumed thinking about the irksome blonde.

She tells herself that knowing what she knows about Emma's true identity is the reason- the  _only_  reason- why.

Slipping from the luxurious interior of her car, she pulls her coat closer to her slim frame- the evening balmy and the sky indigo, but the wind high and chilling- and marches up the worn path to the front entrance. She raises a brow when she reaches the door. A small terracotta plant pot has been placed on either side of the painted wood, each containing a small colony of daffodils. She finds it hard to imagine Emma being behind such thoughtful decor, but she has little clue who  _else_  could be to blame.

"Such a  _common_  choice of bulb, Sheriff."

She sniffs as she lets herself into the shadowed hallway, closing the door behind her quietly. She jumps as a loud crow of exuberance- and, most likely, inebriation- echoes jarringly down the corridor, taking a few hesitant steps forwards as she makes out the low drawl of the blonde and the excitable chatter of the promiscuous little waitress from the Diner.

Recognising Ruby's flirtatious giggling has her rolling her eyes once more. The waitress appears to be spending more and more time with the Sheriff; following her around as though she were some sort of lapdog, something which the blonde seems to be surprisingly alright with. She had warned Emma when she had begun to suspect that the blonde was considering appointing the young brunette as her deputy, that this was not a decision she was going to let fly, receiving a childish huff and a poisonous green-eyed glare in return, but the Sheriff had assured her she was merely 'being friendly'.

"An unlikely story."

Scarlet lips spit angrily, as the Mayor finds the thought of the blonde simply 'being friendly' entirely preposterous. The younger woman is vile, and thorny as a rose; the term just doesn't suit her.

And yet, as she continues to listen to the raucous giggling from the Sheriff's office, she is perplexed to find that hateful, sarcastic drawl taking on a husky humor, as Emma crows unintelligibly at the younger woman, accompanied by a dull thud and a high-pitched screech of laughter.

The Mayor cocks her head as she makes out the scrape of a chair against the cold concrete floor.

"Hang on, there's ice cream in the freezer, don't you go..."

But the rest is just a throaty murmur and the brunette can't make out the individual words. However, she has understood enough to suspect the blonde will emerge from the office any second now to make her way to the small kitchen at the back of the building, and she pulls herself together with rigid authority, awaiting Emma's presence.

"What...?"

Regina blinks, utterly stunned, as she lays eyes on the Sheriff.

Had Emma taken the time to scope out her surroundings, she would have clocked the brunette stood staring at her in the entrance hall right away, but as it is, she simply trots lightly towards the kitchen without a second glance. The lightness of her footsteps is due to the fact that she has discarded the use of her heavy boots. In _fact,_  she hurries down the hallway with one foot completely bare... Much the same as her torso; pale flesh providing a striking contrast to the deep emerald lace that runs a thin slash of color across her back.

Frowning as she tries to comprehend what she's just seen, the Mayor shakes her head, stalking stiffly towards the kitchen to find out just what in the hell the younger woman is playing at. She steps into the entranceway of the small kitchenette silently, and allows a small smile to touch her lips as she takes in the pale flesh of the younger woman's back as Emma leans into the fridge. The definition of the blonde's spine becomes more pronounced as she leans down lower to inspect the freezer. Clearing her throat loudly, the Mayor attempts an aloof scoff as the Sheriff jumps and turns to address her.

"Ah! _Regina?_!"

The brunette smirks as the blonde winces; her head colliding with the door of the fridge in her haste to face her intruder.

"What...?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This piece took a little longer to create as I wanted to illustrate it as part of the gift- please check out my Deviant Art to take a look- the link is on my profile on here. Enjoy! And please comment! :)

_"What...?"_

Regina raises an eyebrow expectantly as the Sheriff simply stares at her open mouthed, forbidding her eyes from giving in to their peculiar want to travel down the blonde's exposed flesh.

"Care to explain just  _what_  you are doing here in your current state of dress- or lack of it- and precisely  _why_  Miss Lucas should find herself subject to such depravity, Sheriff?"

"Uh..."

Green eyes drop down to survey the twin lemon and lime popsicles in her hand as the younger woman struggles to conjure an appropriate response. Coming up empty, she merely sighs, crossing her arms self-consciously over her chest- sending a small rivet of icy condensation running slowly down the ripple of her sternum- and adopting her go-to 'I'm so incredibly bored of your shit' tone.

"Station closes at five... What I do after hours is my business."

She cringes inwardly as she imagines such a statement only serves to further beg the question of just  _why_  she stands topless before the Mayor, but she flicks her hair back irritably and waits for Regina to take the lead rather than providing any more information herself.

"Incorrect, Miss Swan, what you do after hours while on public property is very much _my_  business, especially when you have quite clearly been drinking and are... Well yes..."

Dark eyes flicker pointedly over the Sheriff's pale torso and the blonde notes with a sense of surprise that the Mayor's cheeks pinken ever so slightly as she shifts her gaze warily back up to eye-level. Relaxing a little as she comes to the curious realization that Regina is more than a little uncomfortable herself, Emma drops her arms down from her chest and places her hands on her hips, thus creating a second trickle of moisture which rolls lazily down the shallow peak of her hipbone to be soaked up by her jeans.

"Okay, okay, you caught me. I'm not doing any  _harm_... But it won't happen again."

The brunette nods distractedly as she follows the course of the droplet down pale flesh, before glancing back up at the Sheriff and abruptly shaking her head as though suddenly realizing just  _who_  she's been staring at.

"And what exactly _is_  happening in there, Miss Swan?"

"I was... Umm... Showing Ruby something."

The blonde mutters awkwardly, realizing that her response leaves a lot to be desired and is  _more_  than a little odd, but she doubts Regina's mood will brighten should she be clued in on the fact that the town Sheriff has turned her desk into a card table, complete with a selection of drinks- on the house, of course- while using the small plastic tokens given to her that morning to distribute by the Mayor herself- meant for clocking in purposes at the cannery- as poker chips.

"You were showing Ruby something... Half naked...?"

"Uh..."

"A little inappropriate don't you think, Sheriff?"

"It's not what you... I... She..."

"Hey, Emma, you  _die_  in there or something?"

Green eyes squeeze shut with trepidation as the waitress comes wandering into the kitchen on skyscraper heels with a tumbler of rum in her hand, bright pink polka-dot bra bared for all to see.

"You can't get out of this  _that_  easy, pumpkin! All this fuss and you're not even down to your  _jeans_  yet! But soon you-... Reg- Madame Mayor!?"

Ruby's jaw drops comically as her bright eyes flash with shock, and for a second she is in danger of letting her glass shatter on the floor. Regina regards her stoically, eyes taking in pleasantly pink flesh disdainfully before turning back to Emma who stands with her head hung in an attempt to use her long hair to partially cover her blushing cheeks.

"And was Miss Lucas 'showing you something', also?"

"No... Yes... Look, it's  _really_  not what you think."

"Oh, my dear, right now, I don't know _what_  to think!"

"We were... We were playing a game..."

"A game... You were playing a  _game?._.. I realize that I have several years on you, Sheriff, and several _more_  on Miss Lucas, but I must say, I have never encountered a game where the rules dictate one should flaunt themselves quite so brazenly at their opponent..."

Regina's tone is rich with sarcasm, and the blonde suspects that it might be the rum coursing hotly through her blood, but her earlier embarrassment is quickly turning to impatience, as she doesn't care for the way the Mayor looks down at her any more when she's partially dressed than she does when she's clothed.

"Yes, Regina, a game. Strip poker... Hardly anything outrageous-"

"- Hardly anything  _outrageous_? Perhaps such things fly in the city, dear, but here in Storybrooke we carry ourselves with a little more decorum...  _Most_  of us do, that is..."

The brunette sniffs as she throws a dirty look towards Ruby, who meanwhile busies herself sidling surreptitiously closer to the Sheriff as if for moral support. Emma frowns at this little quip and lets out a sigh of frustration.

"Look, we'll go clear everything up, alright? You don't have to be a bitch about it."

 _Although I fear that_ particular _personality flaw may be well and truly ingrained._

Dark eyes flash angrily at the blonde's words, but Regina finds she has a hard time thinking up a cutting response. Such inadequacy at forming a disdainful sentence- particularly when faced with such an easy target as the Swan woman- gives her cause for concern. She is having a hard time concentrating in general, her gaze continually dropping to delicate lace. The resultant warmth at her cheeks is both perplexing and frustrating, and when Emma simply takes her silence as a cue to traipse off back to the main office, she follows behind; sienna coals fixated on the vast expanse of pale flesh on display in front of her.

 _For one so committed to slinging an ugly band of leather around her hips, you do wear your jeans alarmingly_ low _, Sheriff._

Catching herself wetting her lips as she studies the shallow dimples a few inches above dark denim, she sighs irritably, quickening her pace so that she enters the office directly behind the blonde, her eyes widening as she takes in the mess on the younger woman's desk.

"What in the hell were you  _thinking_?!"

Emma's leather jacket lies forlorn in the middle of the table; a scarlet carcass amongst the drained husks of a variety of beer bottles and cans. The waitress's blouse hangs from the bars of the cells that line the walls in a way that reminds her of a flag of surrender. The blonde's boots lie discarded a few feet before her, one of them housing an empty bottle of something potent in an almost comical fashion.

Spotting the tokens she had taken the time to deliver to the Sheriff only that very morning scattered about the desk- not to mention the fallen soldiers on the floor- she lets out a furious groan, rounding on the blonde.

"Are you  _serious_?"

Emma nibbles her lip sheepishly- although her eyes remain the same hateful cool, unabashed green the Mayor loathes so deeply- and Ruby comes to stand behind her, peering nervously over the blonde's bare shoulder.

"Look, I said I was sorry..."

"You did nothing of the sort!"

"Ok, well then, I'm sorry,  _happy_? Ruby, could you help me grab the shit off the floor? We'll just have head over to your place, given as-"

"-Sheriff... Do you  _honestly_  think I'm about to turn a blind eye and pretend this never happened!?"

The blonde turns from her position bent over to collect miscellaneous cans from the dusty floor with a frown. There is a definite fury in the darker woman's tone, but there is something else too, and she is having trouble deciphering just what it is that's causing her stomach to knot as the Mayor studies her through enviable lashes.

Regina continues to stare at the younger woman, her features carefully expressionless. She is furious with the Sheriff for her complete negligence of acceptable behavior, but she is also intrigued at the way the two women that busy themselves picking up the room seem perfectly at home in their current state of undress. She imagines for one such as the waitress such immodesty comes easily, but she would hazard a guess the Sheriff has sunken a fair few bottles to get to the state she's now in.

To play the 'game'.

Stalking over to the chaos that litters the table, she sniffs disdainfully at a smattering of obnoxiously bright playing cards emblazoned with Red Sox branding. She plucks at the discarded leather of the Sheriff's jacket distastefully before looking up to find the younger woman regarding her with narrowed eyes.

_I wonder if she knows that her eyes are the exact same shade as her bra._

_I wonder if her underwear matches..._

"Jeez, could you turn your nose up any _more_ , Regina? I said we'd sort things out, you don't need to stay and  _supervise_... Unless you're wanting to  _play_  that is?"

Emma raises an eyebrow with a derisive chuckle, and the waitress lets out an ill-hidden snort of laughter from the corner. Tossing her chestnut locks back arrogantly, the Mayor huffs and places her hands on her hips. Staring the Sheriff down, she adopts a slow smirk as she addresses the younger woman silkily.

"...If you would be so kind as to explain the rules, dear."

* * *

Scarlet lips form a cruel smirk as defeated green rolls irritably. Holding out her hand, the Mayor beckons coyly as the blonde grumbles and works free the tricky little teeth at the back of her bra.

It has taken her little time to get the hang of the game, and, while she sits in what she would ordinarily consider a debauched fashion- slender limbs encased in nothing but expensive French lingerie- the tables appear to have turned as she has requisitioned tight denim not so long ago and now smirks triumphantly as Emma covers herself with her arm and slips emerald lace from pale shoulders with a sigh.

She misses the small smile the waitress casts down knowingly at her hands.

Ruby watches her friend out of the corner of her eye as the Sheriff hands over her bra with a low mutter of irritation. She imagines Emma may even be fooling  _herself_  in this futile act of frustration, but nobody else.

 _Well... Maybe the Mayor... And isn't_ that _just hilarious?_

When they had taken up their seats- Regina perching primly on a spare brought over by the blonde- Emma had proceeded to pour each of them a triple shot of aged rum and cracked open a side of beer. The darker woman's expression upon being offered her can had been a picture, but to their surprise, the Mayor now nurses her third, despite loudly lamenting the flavour every now and then.

As the Sheriff, too, has continued to knock back her drinks, the waitress has noticed a peculiar change in the blonde; Emma becoming curiously animated and chatty, even giving a salacious wiggle of her hips when removing her jeans to be taken hostage by the blushing Mayor.

Such playfulness is not entirely unheard of in the blonde, and Ruby likes to think she is one of the few people lucky enough to be on the receiving end more often than not- Emma seeming to have taken a well-earned liking to her- but to witness the Sheriff behaving quite so coyly around the  _Mayor_  is something else entirely.

At first, the waitress had presumed Emma's friendly, flirtatious- _Really? Emma? Flirtatious? Who knew?..._ \- attitude had simply been her way of trying to appease the situation with Regina, but the longer she has observed the unfolding events of the evening, the more she feels a little as though she might as well be invisible.

Not that she minds; she's _more_  than a little intrigued as to  _why_.

As she ponders this, she catches a brief glimpse of stark white as the Sheriff reaches for her glass- Emma's long hair providing her a some modesty- and her smirk widens into a full blown grin as she realises exactly what she has just spotted.

Cards.  _Extra_  cards. Tucked secretively into the waistband of the blonde's underwear.

_Figures._

She has played the Sheriff at numerous card games in the short time since they became friends- an easy cure to the boredom of sitting around the Station on her lunch hour that doesn't involve watching Emma grumble at the dart board- and has been beaten at every single one of them.

As such, she can't help but feel that the blonde's curious lack of luck tonight is anything but.

"You realise you  _are_  still wearing a sock, hun?"

Emma turns to her distractedly, cheeks pinkening slightly, and upon catching the waitress's knowing grin, she looks swiftly away while giving the younger woman a warning kick beneath the table.

"Oh shit..."

She murmurs lamely, glancing up at the Mayor who offers her own- oblivious- smirk and shakes her head triumphantly.

"Sorry, Miss Swan, once it's off, it stays off."

Looping emerald lace over the angle-poise floor lamp, she offers the younger woman a sordid smile and Ruby can't help but wonder precisely who's playing who. She is curiously reminded of the numerous times she has witnessed the two women beside her staring each other down with an intensity fit to scald.

_Uh oh..._

Emma feigns irritation, but in doing so tosses her long curls back, exposing herself in the process. Ruby rolls her eyes with a low whisper of 'honestly', while Regina clears her throat and tries to adopt an expression of disinterest. Failing, as her attention wanders stubbornly back to the pert flesh on display, she tries an alternate tactic to save herself the inner turmoil of accepting the fact that she has the peculiar urge to reach out and test whether the pale skin so intimately revealed is as soft as it looks. Adopting a sneer, she berates the young blonde with a roll of her eyes.

"Really, Sheriff, have you no shame?"

Green eyes regard her levelly, and the scarlet blush and stammered response she had expected fail to surface. Instead, Emma gives her a pitying look and states loftily

"Kind of a side effect of the game, Madame Mayor. No need to be childish about it..."

Ruby glances up at her friend with raised eyebrows, a little surprised at the Sheriff's gutsy response, and wondering whether the blonde is maybe a little foolish in her brazenness. The Mayor simply sniffs with distaste, regarding the Sheriff with glittering eyes as she matches the younger's breezy tone.

"No need to get snippy just because you're losing, dear."

"Like you're not enjoying the view..."

Twin pairs of brown eyes study the Sheriff in surprise; the darker set flickering dangerously while the lighter roll at the blonde's stupidity.

"...Hardly... Honestly, Miss Swan. One would think you would at least choose to play a game you were vaguely _decent_  at..."

Raising a brow, the Sheriff offers the darker woman an impish smile which has the latter faltering ever so slightly, and the waitress holding her breath. Laying her cards down on the table with a flourish, Emma looks up at the Mayor with a mischievous grin, her eyes glittering triumphantly.

"Well, would you look at that... Royal flush, Regina...Panties or bra... Entirely up to you."


	3. Chapter 3

_"Well, would you look at that... Royal flush, Regina...Panties or bra... Entirely up to you."_

Dark eyes dropping to the damning cards that fan out across the table, Regina clenches her jaw; understanding that she has been played. She looks back up at the hateful woman sat across from her to find herself faced with a shark-like grin and glittering green eyes.

"You cheated."

"Cheated? Why would I do that? Don't get bitchy with me just because you have a weak hand... I mean, your claim might insinuate you believed I had... Ulterior motives... Or something."

"Oh _god_..."

The waitress lets out a low groan as she hangs her head at her friend's stupidity, but neither woman pays the young brunette any mind.

"I simply believe you're a sneak, Miss Swan."

"Prove it."

And still that sharp-toothed smirk doesn't falter as the blonde beckons gleefully for the Mayor to relinquish one of the few garments she still wears.

 _As if she honestly_ believes _this is going to happen._

Crossing her arms over the delicate lace that serves to accentuate the pleasant swell of her breasts, Regina eyes the Sheriff caustically, her tone dripping with warning when she speaks.

"I am not one to play with cheaters..."

"Again with that! I-"

"-Emma..."

The blonde casts a distracted glance at Ruby as the younger woman admonishes her quietly; the waitress not wishing for the Mayor's previous anger to resurface itself.

"What?! It's how this works! The rules are simple! You lose a hand; you lose an item of clothing! How come the same rules don't apply for  _her_?!"

She growls, looking over at the brunette irritably as she spits out this last sentiment. The darker woman narrows her eyes in response, though she is inwardly able to acknowledge the obscurity of Emma's anger while the younger woman is sat all but bare to be strangely amusing despite her irritation.

She scolds herself as her gaze drops to a sparse scatter of freckles just below the Sheriff's left breast.

"Honestly, Miss Swan, you're behaving like a child."

"Why?! Because I want you to adhere to the rules of a fucking game?!"

"My dear, I'm beginning to suspect you have had quite too much to drink-"

"-Oh, and  _here_  we go! Madame fucking Mayor; the broken record-"

"- _Emma!_ "

Ruby interjects, louder this time; debating whether she should place a hand on her friend's shoulder to pull her back as the blonde leans aggressively forwards, but knowing her well enough to suspect such an act might only serve to make matters worse.

Dark eyes flickering dangerously as she drinks in the sudden anger dancing within the younger woman's own, Regina pushes herself from the table; the legs of her chair emitting an angry screech across dull linoleum.

"Enough! I refuse to be spoken to in such a way-"

"-But the rules-"

"-I said  _enough_! The rules to your  _job_  are that you negate to engage in such activities whilst on public property Miss Swan, and, while on the topic, may it  _also_  be noted that you were still wearing your badge upon my entry, despite the fact that you had quite  _clearly_  already indulged yourself in liquor and the debauched company of Miss Lucas-"

"-Hey! Don't start talking like that about Ruby, she-"

"-Has no business sat in your office in her _lingerie._ "

Regina sniffs, making quick work of slipping back into the sensible ensemble she's arrived in.

"I will be back here tomorrow at 8am sharp, Sheriff, and we will discuss the repercussions of your behaviour this evening."

"Wait!  _What?!_ -"

Emma yells, pushing herself up- a little clumsily- so that she stands with her hands rested aggressively on the table, and her long hair just ghosting the point of decency.

"- You fucking _joined in_! You... You _instigated_  this! What? And now you're going to get all high and mighty because you're losing a goddamn game?! You may have a stick up your ass, Regina, but _you_  wanted to-"

"-Continue, and I will see to it that you never wear that badge again, dear."

"Go ahead, it's not like you succeeded the _first_  time!"

The blonde counteracts, shaking her impressive mane as she growls irritably.

With the way the Sheriff stands, the table top cuts her off mid-thigh, and the brunette's eyes flicker as she catches a glimpse of stark white playing cards hooked into the green swatch of the younger woman's underwear.

 _And_  I'm _the one not following the rules?!_

Holding up her hand and pursing her lips, she shakes her head with arrogant finality.

"Do yourself a favour and sober up, Sheriff. Miss Lucas, good day."

And with that she sweeps from the office accompanied by the staccato rapping of stilettos on linoleum; just able to make out the quiet murmur of 'oh, Emma, you idiot!' purred by the young waitress.

_You idiot, indeed!_

She is livid that the blonde should deem it suitable to speak to her the way in which she had; the cold air when she steps from the building offering a kind mercy from the headache the Sheriff has instilled.

 _... Though that's not the_ only  _ache._

She hisses irritably at her subconscious to subdue itself as she slips into the plush interior of her car; not wanting to ponder the dull throbbing between her legs in the slightest.

"Bitch."

She growls as she tries to corral her emotions back in line before attempting to venture out onto the road. It is a crass term, and one she rarely uses- even in the privacy of her own company- but it is one that she feels sums Emma up perfectly.

 _You have no_ idea _what misery I plan on sending your way..._

But, of course, the blonde  _does_ , and, much as it pains the brunette to acknowledge such a thing, she is beginning to run out of ideas on just how to keep making the younger woman's life a living hell.

Yet  _another_  irksome facet to the detestable blonde's character.

"Nothing but a foulmouthed, cheap little piece of bad news..."

She sniffs, feeling both irritated and uncomfortable as she finds she is becoming increasingly hot and bothered rather than regaining some sense of calm. Her description of the blonde as 'cheap' has her thinking back on pretty, firm breasts and delicately stacked ribs, and it does nothing to help her cause. She is disgusted by the younger woman's brazen display and whorish lack of shame, but her distaste is accompanied by a most unwelcome heat, and she thins her lips as she becomes acutely aware of the fact that the expensive lace between her thighs has become incriminatingly damp.

"Bitch!"

She repeats; hoping to shake herself from such out of character idiocy.

"Liar!"

_Yes! Liar! The woman is vile!_

_Concentrate on that!_

A snake for implying that she- the Mayor of notable repute- had cheated at their hateful game, when it had been Emma herself harbouring guilty cards.

"Hypocrite..."

 _But to what_ purpose _?_

She stills in her angered thoughts as her soulfully dark eyes become suddenly wide.

"... Surely not..."

Surely Emma hadn't played an unfair hand in hopes that she would be forced to bare a little more flesh.

The thought is absurd... And yet she finds she can't quite fathom any _other_  reason why the blonde would have played dirty.

To win?

But to win  _what_?

Her body had been the only prize.

"...No..."

But if the brunette finds herself confused and uncomfortably aroused by the situation she's just opted out on, what's to say the Sheriff feels any differently?

"But surely-"

She is pulled from her peculiar thoughts by a loud bang to her right. Eyes glittering in the darkness of her Mercedes, she peers over towards the Station where the two younger woman stand out on the stoop as Emma fumbles clumsily with the door; trying in vain to pull it shut before realising this to be impossible due to the fact she has somehow managed to draw the heavy dead-bolt across to bar the way.

Regina finds she is entirely unsurprised that the Sheriff's initial solution is to slam the rickety wood all the more forcefully as if simply planning to beat it into submission.

"Stop... Get... No... Oh, Emma... Ha!"

She is unable to pick up most of what the waitress says- her voice lost in the wind and through the glass- but the topic of conversation is clear as Ruby pulls the blonde aside and works the door shut herself before handing the keys back to the older woman.

"Are you sure you're alright to get home by yourself?"

This the Mayor _is_  able to pick up fairly clearly, as the two women make their way down the path and closer to the parking lot; neither one of them entirely steady on her feet.

"What are you, my mother?"

Emma snipes, but in the dull glow of the emergency lights that stud the exterior of the building, Regina can make out the humorous pull to pleasantly pink lips.

Just as she can make out that- although dressed once again- the blonde has managed to misallign the buttons of her shirt quite impressively, revealing a generous peek of lace on one side.

"Nah, I'm good; I'd like my kids slightly better behaved, thank you very much,  _Miss Swan_."

Regina frowns; not missing the very clear- and entirely over the top- mimicry of her own form of address.

"What's _that_  supposed to mean?"

A peculiar giggle to accompany pantomime hurt, and the Mayor muses on the fact that she would never have believed this side of the usually stoic Sheriff existed.

"Oh, you know; less of a temper, better manners than to attempt to get the damned Mayor naked-"

"- And I would have  _succeeded_  too, if she hadn't thrown a fucking tantrum!"

Perfect teeth grind angrily in the dark shadows of the black car that sits unnoticed by the inebriated duo that pass by about ten metres in front, the waitress linking a skinny arm through the blonde's, which is- unbelievably- accepted; the latter forcing a peculiar sway to their steps which Ruby adopts with a grin.

"Well you _did_  cheat..."

"I didn't... Well, not a _lot_..."

"Mmmhm..."

"Seriously!"

"Yeah, sure, just like you _seriously_  wanted to get Regina naked!"

"Well, yeah... I mean can you imagine how  _embarrassed_  she'd have been? It'd have been hilarious!"

"... Am I supposed to be _buying_  this?"

"What?"

"Oh please, that is _not_  why you wanted to get her naked."

"...Well... What other reason would you suggest?"

This last phrase is harder to catch as Emma and Ruby begin their way down the sidewalk towards Main Street, both due to the fact that their rapidly retreating forms are now facing away from from the brunette, and the much lower quality to the Sheriff's suddenly dangerous tone.

Regina tells herself she isn't _really_  sitting forwards in her seat in order to hear the younger of the two idiots' response.

"You... Practically... Drooling... Want that..."

She is unable to catch the rest of the waitress's words as they are swept away by the chilling wind.

She doesn't miss the sharp smack on the arm the blonde administers in response, however.

"...What?..."

She whispers as the two women disappear from view.

She is astounded by what she has just heard- as well as a little perturbed by the casual tone of the conversation- and entirely unsure just what to make of it.

Ordinarily, such an obscure notion would have her rolling her eyes or chasing down the young woman in question to demand an apology for being wrongly accused... But the alcohol plays softly on her own mind, and she finds her predominant reaction to what she has just overheard is to clench her legs together as her sex aches maddeningly; several unwanted images of the Sheriff sat the way she had been in just the flimsy swatch of her underwear flickering disobediently through her head.

"Really?...Emma?"

The blonde's name comes out as little more than a whisper as she remains frozen in thought, before she snaps back to the here and now and slams her palms angrily down onto the gentle curve of the steering wheel.

She is frustrated.

She is infuriated by the younger woman's crass tongue and ill manners.

She is intrigued by her apparent lust.

She is uncomfortably and maddeningly aroused.

... And she is slowly realising she's too drunk to drive.

"Curse you!"

She mutters; blaming the blonde for each and every one of her current predicaments.

"Someone needs to teach you a _lesson_ , dear..."

She hisses, slipping from the car and pulling on her coat before stalking off in the direction the younger two had disappeared in not too long ago.

"A lesson you are unlikely to forget..."

She finishes; a slow smile finally finding it's way across her full lips.

She has had a couple of close calls, true, but she hasn't lost outright to the Sheriff yet... And she isn't about to start doing so now.


	4. Chapter 4

Moonlight casting a silver glow off her dark hair, Regina looks up at the crumbling stone of the apartment block shared by the Sheriff and the Schoolteacher.

When she had arrived, there had been a faint glow emanating from the small window to the right of the building she knows to belong to the blonde's bedroom, but, just as she had taken a step closer into the wide back lot below, this light had been extinguished, leaving her staring up into the empty eyes of blackened windows where her people sleep.

She frowns; wondering just what in the hell she plans on doing now that she's here.

As she had walked, she had taken her time; not wishing to run into the waitress should Ruby decide to follow through on her offer to accompany the Sheriff home before turning back on herself to retread the block to the Diner. She doesn't imagine Emma would have actually  _allowed_  her to offer up such support, but the last thing she needs is to be proven wrong on that count.

As such, the hour is late, and there is something curiously, well, 'forbidden' about her prowling the streets in a way reminiscent of a sleek black panther.

She smiles; savouring the analogy.

Such sly behavior only serves to feed the fire building mercilessly within her loins, and for the last couple of streets she has found herself obscurely aware of the way intricate lace brushes against her most intimate spots as she walks.

"This is ridiculous."

She hisses; her breath misting in the streetlights.

She isn't willing to let this go, though; ridiculous or not. Emma has well and truly crossed a line with her behavior tonight. Serving not only to infuriate and insult her, but to  _confuse_  her also, and this is simply not acceptable.

And not  _just_  that!

Having forced her to bring her convenient little tryst with Graham to an unfortunately fatal conclusion, the blonde has subsequently left the darker woman celibate, and, as such, the wanton ache of her sex is of an almost sickening intensity.

 _"...Well you_  did _cheat..."_

 _"I didn't... Well, not a_  lot _..."_

_"Mmmhm..."_

_"Seriously!"_

_"Yeah, sure, just like you_ seriously _wanted to get Regina naked!"_

"Hasn't anyone ever warned you to be careful what you wish for, dear..."

She murmurs before slipping around to the front of the building and fishing into the deep pocket of her coat for her keys. Ordinarly, she doesn't make a habit of keeping the skeleton keys on her person, but, since Emma's moving in, she has kept the keys for the schoolteacher's building and apartment with her at most times.

She would hate for a prime opportunity to call the younger woman out to arise only to be unable to utilise such a gift and rid her of the bitch.

Sliding the first of the keys into the large front door, she lets herself in to stalk the darkened hallway with a sweep of her coat; taking a moment to smile as the heavy wood thuds quietly shut behind her, before making her way stealthily up the stairs to the second floor.

* * *

She is mildly relieved upon reaching the top of the iron steps leading to Emma's bedroom; still finding Mary Margaret's living arrangements to be decidedly strange, and having hurried past the slumbering schoolteacher's bed in living room with no more than a brief sniff of distaste at the white silk of her ridiculously girlish nightdress.

She has a feeling she has no need to fear such atrocious bedclothes from the blonde.

Smirking as she crests the threshold to the Sheriff's room, her eyes glitter with malicious glee as she is instantly proven right; Emma lying sprawled out on her back atop crumpled covers, still clad in her poorly buttoned shirt and flimsy underwear, and providing an amusing flashback to earlier on in the evening as- yet again- she seems only to have remembered to remove one of her socks.

Pale pink lips slightly parted in sleep.

Slender legs much the same.

Taking a few steps closer to the narrow bed, the brunette's eyes flicker over to a cluttered nightstand on which a half empty bottle of scotch stands forlorn and open, lending the room a peaty, adult smell that she can't help but find suitably intoxicating.

"You really  _do_  need to learn how to behave, dear..."

She murmurs, regarding the sleeping Sheriff with a look of deadly seriousness, before taking her final step towards the bed and placing her hand swiftly over the younger woman's mouth.

Green eyes shoot open, and it is more by luck than preconception that the Mayor catches the fist that comes flying at her with all the skilled finesse of one feral, yet half asleep.

"Shut up!"

She hisses as the blonde makes a choked sound muffled by her fingers. Waiting for her order to be obeyed, she glares down into eyes wide with surprise daringly, continuing in a low voice as she looms in over the Sheriff.

"Let me remind you that Mary Margaret is sleeping downstairs, and I don't think  _either_  of us want to explain to that wet blanket what I might be doing here in your room, with you reeking of alcohol and half naked... Now... I'm going to remove my hand, and you're going to be _quiet_... Understood?"

Bright eyes dart nervously about her moonlit features and Emma gives a small nod, garnering herself a smirk as the brunette pulls her hand away; true to her word.

"Well, what the hell  _are_  you doing here?!"

The Sheriff hisses, pulling herself up and pushing back her hair as she struggles to accept the fact that this isn't simply some sort of hyper realistic dream.

Regina negates to answer her.

Instead, she takes a step back from the bed, never once breaking eye contact with the stunned blonde. Offering a curious smile, she crosses her arms in front of her chest, interrogation style, as she stands silhouetted by the moonlight.

"I heard everything."

"... What do you mean? When?"

"As you and Miss Lucas were leaving the Station... I was still in my car, Sheriff, and I heard what the two of you were gossiping about..."

"I don't _gossip_... And... What?"

The blonde shakes her head as her brow creases in confusion; struggling to recall just what in the hell she had said to Ruby back at the station.

_Clearly something bad enough to have the Mayor fucking breaking and entering!_

"Oh, come now, don't be coy... It doesn't suit you..."

"I... I mean... I don't..."

_Shit... Probably something about her pussying out of the game... But how bad could it have really been, I mean-_

"- Naked."

"...Huh?"

The Sheriff stammers; Regina's low accusation shaking her from her thoughts.

"Miss Lucas seemed under the impression that you found yourself oh so very  _perturbed_  as you had wanted to, ah, get me naked..."

"... Sh-she did?"

"Yes, dear. Indeed she did."

"...Oh..."

Emma offers lamely, looking decidedly uncomfortable as she continues to try and wake herself up enough to fully comprehend what might be going on.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"I... I mean... Maybe you misheard her? I don't... That... It's not-"

"- Oh, I don't think so..."

"... No?"

The blonde croaks, and the Mayor bites back a laugh at the childish glimmer of hope that slowly dies in the Sheriff's eyes. Shaking her head, Regina places her hands on her hips, allowing herself to take in long, pale legs, and the somehow exhilarating image of the younger woman sat so vulnerably in bed. Offering a slow smile which has Emma swallowing audibly, she fusses primly with her hair before cocking her head to the side as though curious.

"... I didn't mishear anything, Sheriff... So I suppose my question to you is... Was Miss Lucas wrong?"

If it's possible, already saucer-like eyes become even wider and the blonde's mouth falls comically open, before she pulls herself under some form of control and clears her throat. She searches for something to say- preferably cutting and sarcastic- but with the way Regina regards her so levelly with her pupils so beautifully blown, she can't help but wonder whether the Mayor comes bearing trick, or treat.

 _It's fucking Regina! What do_  you _think, Swan?!_

_Yes... It's Regina... But it's Regina standing here in your goddamned bedroom after breaking in, watching you sleep, and asking you whether you want a better look at what she has to offer..._

_It's Regina who seems to be having a hard time not staring at your legs..._

Blinking as she comes to _this_  curious realization, Emma allows herself one quick experiment; not prepared to have solicitation added to the long list of grievances the Mayor already keeps reserved just for her.

Cocking her own head as she sits with her palms sinking heavily into the mattress- elbows locked at an angle- she spreads her legs just a little wider; a surreptitious movement, unless taken otherwise.

Dark eyes follow the minute change intently- the brunette's slender throat rippling as she she swallows- and the Sheriff has had enough experience with her own intoxicated and maddening lust to know that this is the very emotion the darker woman is only vaguely attempting to hide.

Offering a small nod, when she answers, her voice is low.

"No... She wasn't wrong..."

The Mayor's eyes sparkle in the darkness at the younger woman's husky admission, and her smile widens when she catches the faint twitch of the blonde's jaw as the latter clenches it defiantly; her gaze hard and daring the brunette to ridicule her for her confession.

"Good."

A simple word- so different from their complex and multi layered bickering- and it catches Emma off guard; her previous smolder broken by tentative confusion. Regina pays this no mind; supposing she should expect little more from the younger woman. Recapturing blown, green eyes, she merely raises her jaw ever so slightly; adopting a clear stance of dominance which is neither argued nor openly accepted.

The Sheriff simply gazes back.

Moving her fingers with dexterous ease, the brunette works loose the fastenings of her coat and lets the heavy garment fall to the floor at her feet.

She proceeds with similar nonchalance as she allows delicate silk to fall from her torso and crisp linen to pool at her feet, never once looking away from the Sheriff as the younger woman drinks in every inch of newly exposed flesh.

"As you were, Miss Swan."

"S-sorry?"

"You seem to be wearing a little more than you had been earlier... You  _clearly_  wanted me to admire the view back at the Station enough to cheat your hand at-"

"-I  _didn't_ -"

"- Don't argue. Take of your shirt."

Her order is little more than a throaty purr, and the blonde decides that if there should ever be a time to let Regina boss her around, it's now, as the darker woman stands clad in nothing but exquisite lace and pearlescent silk.

Smirking as the Sheriff makes a small noise of amusement upon discovering the ineptitude of her earlier redressing, the brunette watches as the younger woman frees herself of hellishly crumpled material and tosses it carelessly into the corner of her room where several fallen comrades seem to have suffered a similar fate.

"And the sock..."

It should be funny, it really should, and Emma seems to find it to be just that as she chuckles huskily, but the underlying intensity of the situation has the Mayor's head spinning, and she lunges suddenly forwards; yanking the Sheriff down the bed by her ankle as she rips away the disobedient garment herself, and cutting off the resultant noise the act garners her with her mouth rather than her hand this time.

A strong thigh hooks round at her hip to pull her closer as pale fingers fly into her hair, and she concludes that she hasn't been the only one suffering from heady desire.

The knee that falls involuntarily between the younger woman's legs as she strives to keep her balance brushes against damp cotton that seconds this notion.

"Take off the rest..."

Emma's own request is a throaty murmur in the darker woman's ear as the latter leaves her lips for the pale column of her throat, and Regina growls against delicate flesh; entirely unimpressed that the Sheriff should think it her place to make the demands.

"No."

" _No_?! But I thought-"

"- Hush! Never mind what you _thought_... What I _told_  you was to strip off to the point we were at while at the station... Why should I give you a reward when you fail to do so much as listen?"

"Huh?"

The blonde frowns distractedly; vaguely aware that she should be snapping back at the Mayor for implying that she's the lucky recipient in all this- not that she entirely _disagrees_  on that count, but she has to preserve her dignity  _somehow_ \- but finds herself lacking in sarcastic wit as the older woman remains hovering so tantalizingly close.

"Your bra."

Regina growls, while ripping at the item ruthlessly to push emerald lace roughly up to release its bounty.

" _Hey!_ "

"Shut up!"

The brunette admonishes with a low hiss as the younger woman cries out incredulously.

"Don't wreck my things then!"

Emma whispers irritably back, but she struggles up enough so that she can hook an arm awkwardly behind herself and pull the abused lace completely free.

"Much better..."

The Mayor murmurs once more into the salted hollow of the Sheriff's collarbone; her hands exploring pert flesh as the younger woman attempts to pull her back up to meet her lips.

_Holy shit... Fuck me... This is actually happening... What in the hell has gotten into her..._

_And why do I_ care _?!_

Fractured thoughts as the blonde eagerly allows the darker woman to slip her tongue into the secret cavern of her mouth to find her own.

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she walks her fingers playfully down the Mayor's spine to find the luxurious banner of silk below her shoulder blades and fiddles tricky little teeth loose; tensing slightly as she anticipates probable punishment.

"You drop that on your dirty floor, Sheriff, and you'll have another thing coming."

Regina warns as she subtly moves herself to allow the younger woman to untangle her from the expensive garment.

"Oh?"

That ever vexing impish grin, and the Sheriff dangles the item playfully over the edge of the bed.

"...Don't play with fire, Miss Swan."

"Or I'll get burnt? Who says my floor's _dirty_  anyway?!"

"Your ownership of the room leaves little question."

"...A rather roundabout way to call me filthy, don't you think-  _Hey!_ "

The blonde's throaty teasing is broken up by a choked mewl as the darker woman grabs at globed flesh with vicious reprimand.

"I  _told_  you to be quiet!"

"I'm whispering!"

"Well, then let's try  _silence_..."

The brunette growls irritably, cutting off any further argument swiftly with kiss-swollen lips, and letting out a low groan as skilled fingers find her freed breasts and manipulate soft buds until painfully taut.

She moans a little louder when those same fingers wander south and slip beneath the waistband of her lingerie.

Maneuvering herself into a better position, she keeps up a gentle, encouraging rhythm with her hips so as to wordlessly instruct the blonde to keep up with such ministrations, rising up only slightly in order to slip the Sheriff's scant underwear down slim legs.

She lets out a low chuckle when Emma instantly moves to reciprocate the act; the younger woman hooking her fingers into elegant silk and letting delicate underwear fall to catch at bent knees. Taking a moment to free herself fully, Regina notes that the Sheriff makes no move to liberate her of her hold-ups, and so allows the impossibly sheer nylon to remain in place; rewarding the blonde with a decidedly wet kiss as the latter drags her nails gently across the intricate whorls of lace at the tops.

Lowering herself back down heavily- her fingers buried deep within cornsilk curls- Regina sighs blissfully as the younger woman enters her easily with two fingers while brushing against her most sensitive spot with her thumb. She continues to move gently above the blonde; tasting her deeply as her head spins with such pent up lust that she is sure she might well go mad.

Slim fingers curl to take on a new approach to her undoing, and the Mayor finds herself unable to keep from making small noises of pleasure which are swallowed sweetly.

Pushing herself up to ride the Sheriff's skilled hand with a better view, she stares down into glittering eyes dark with aggressive arousal and knows her own must mirror the blonde's.

Nodding in encouragement as Emma uses her free hand to explore, she lets her eyes slip closed; her own fingers tracing strange and cryptic patterns over the pale flesh of the younger woman's stomach and chest.

The Blonde's ministrations pick up speed and passion and she feels herself suddenly hurtling towards the edge at an alarming speed; flying over it without warning into a blacked-out bliss as she shudders and her mouth falls open in a silent cry.

She will later muse that the subsequent shocks and ripples of pleasure had continued for a good two or three minutes, before she had finally collapsed back down to find the Sheriff's lips and manoeuvred with great care of her tender satiation away from those cruelly adept fingers.

"Good god..."

She murmurs into unruly tresses, before smirking as she becomes aware of the blonde's own heavy breathing and the wanton movement of her hips.

_Feeling a little left out, are we dear?_

The noise the younger woman offers against the slick skin of her shoulder as she slips a single finger between tense thighs answers the question beautifully.

 _Although... I_  did _tell you to be quiet..._

Adding another finger experimentally, she shakes her head as this simply garners a louder hum.

"Hush."

She hisses, but she doubts Emma even hears her; the Sheriff attempting both to buck her hips to increase her pleasure, and to pull Regina down to her to resume their battle of tongues.

Growling, and placing her hand once more over lust-parted lips, the brunette moves the fingers of the hand working lower down with a sudden cruel roughness; eyes dark with warning.

Reacting to the Mayor's punishment with little less than a pained shriek, the younger woman opens her eyes and glares up at the darker woman angrily.

"That  _hurt_!"

"It was supposed to... Now do as I say and I won't do it again."

Pleasantly pink lips fall open as Emma tries to conjure up a retort to _that_  little unwarranted display of dominance, but then the brunette begins moving down her body with clear intent and she stills; simply watching her.

Pushing apart slim thighs with obscure primness, Regina wets her bottom lip before glancing back up to offer the Sheriff a stern expression.

"Well?"

"W-well what?"

"Are you going to behave yourself?"

" _Ugh_ , Regina-"

"-Yes or no, Miss Swan, I didn't ask for a debate."

"... Fine..."

Rolling her eyes, the Mayor lowers herself carefully so that she rests between the blonde's legs; shaking her head with a smirk as the younger woman shuffles long limbs impatiently wider.

Taking momentary pity on the woman who most days plays the bane of her existence, the brunette offers a few quick strokes of her fingers to explore delicate flesh, before moving in with her tongue.

One sweep of pointed velvet and the younger woman breaks her promise; letting out a low noise that has Regina speaking into glistening folds.

"Why must you  _continue_  to misbehave...?"

Her tone carries an irritable note of reprimand, but she slips a finger back down to explore the Sheriff's wetness as she pushes herself up to regard the blonde sternly.

Emma simply rocks her hips to intensify the intrusion.

Thinning her lips, before adopting a positively cruel smile; the brunette reaches beside them to snag up the discarded silk of her underwear. Moving back up the blonde's body, she teases her with soft nips of her teeth and quick flicks of her tongue over pretty, pink lips; schooling the younger woman to keep her mouth slightly open in anticipation of her next assault.

Green eyes shoot open when lust dampened silk is pushed none too gently between her obediently parted teeth.

The noise of irritation she makes at such a forced position of submission is duly muffled, and Regina chuckles huskily as she manoeuvres swiftly back over taut limbs to renew her assault down south.

It takes no time at all for her to conclude that her- admittedly crass- use of lingerie had been a good idea, as Emma greets each hungry lash of her tongue with a small noise of what she imagines is approval.

The pale fingers playing maddening rhythms through her hair seem to support this theory.

Taking delicate flesh in her mouth and slipping her fingers sweetly where they are needed, the Mayor offers just a little more attention, before the soft mewls trapped by sodden silk are replaced by a dampened cry, and toned thighs shake tellingly.

Chuckling against spent flesh, the brunette pushes herself back up and plucks away ruined silk to place a kiss on soft lips; parted and panting.

"I'll let you keep those, dear."

Slipping into the rest of her clothes, she offers one final glance over her shoulder at the exhausted blonde and takes her leave with a smile.

* * *

Groaning as she recognises the sharp tapping of heels down the hallway of the station, Emma drains the last of her coffee; not entirely sure what constitutes as the 'right' thing to say in such a situation as she is about to find herself.

She had awoken with a pounding headache, but an otherwise blissfully relaxed feeling to her normally tight limbs, and it had only been when she had staggered past the small mirror beside her door to catch the small bruises- five in total- circling her left breast that she had remembered the  _reality_  of the previous evening.

"Oh fuck..."

She whispers now; dropping down from her balancing act on the back two legs of her chair to regard the doorway soberly.

Sure enough, it _is_  Regina who enters in a breeze of arrogance and Chanel no. 5.

"Sheriff."

"...Regina..."

At a loss of what else to say, she simply offers a slightly crooked smile; a little embarrassed, but finding herself curiously thrilled now that the Mayor actually stands before her.

"Wipe that smile off your face, what's the matter with you?"

"I... uh... Nothing, I guess..."

_Ok... Playing it cool... Pretending nothing happened while in the work place... Makes sense... That's fine..._

"Sorry...Um, What can I do for you, Madame Mayor?"

"It's eight am."

"...Uh, yeah... It is... So?"

" _So_ , if you would so kindly recall; I am here to discuss with you the repercussions and disciplinary action that is to follow your behaviour last night."

"My... Wait, what?!... Are you _shitting_  me?!"

An incredulous cry to match an incredulous expression, and Regina hastens to bite back a laugh.

"Oh, no, Miss Swan... I'm not 'shitting you' at all..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I had actually meant to leave this fic as finished after the last chapter, but, after a few reviews suggesting otherwise, I felt I really should add this little epilogue... Hope you enjoy!

"Yes?"

The brunette barks down the receiver after a single ring of the old telephone on her desk. She finds herself short of temper this morning, despite falling into the plush luxury of silken sheets and feeling immensely satisfied with herself not six hours ago.

It's the dreams.

Full color, exhausting, sweat-ridden dreams, in which there had been  _plenty_  of crying out and moaning while thrashing limbs had thrown shadows across the walls.

She had awoken clad in a fine sheen of perspiration, with the covers kicked restlessly down the bed and her underwear sordidly damp.

Wanting...

And that's _not_  how this was suppose to go.

No.

Not how this was supposed to go at _all._

She was supposed to teach the Sheriff a lesson.

Make her pay.

Instead, despite the Swan woman's dopey grin and slight blush when she had stormed into the Station a little while ago, Emma had seemed peculiarly unfazed...

...Had, in fact, inquired if she would like a drink, and simply apologised for her behaviour the previous evening with little coercion or argument, after her initial outrage at the intrusion.

Yes.

The little bitch had simply _grinned_.

_No... Not how this was supposed to go at all..._

Growling irritably as she clenches her thighs together subconsciously, the Mayor pulls a harried hand through her hair as she listens to the incessant whining of the useless reporter crackling through the ear-piece of the ornate handset; rolling her eyes as he begins his speech with an excuse.

Offering a theatrical sigh wrought with frustration, she snaps back at him with more venom than usual.

"What do you _mean_  you can't bring me the papers I need?... I see... And _why_  don't you have them?... Right... I see... Well, what does  _she_  need with them?... Is that so?... Right... No... No matter... It seems if I want things done right, I must do them  _myself!_ "

She drops the receiver back into its cradle with unnescary abruptness and a disdainful sniff; perturbed by the information Sydney has relayed unto her.

The papers she needs- papers pertaining to city funding, and thus having absolutely  _nothing_  to do with the sorry excuse the town currently has for law enforcement- have been requested for viewing not half an hour ago.

Requested by none other than the ever bothersome Sheriff herself.

Full lips thinning into an irritable line, Regina sighs as she casts her dark gaze towards the window and watches a pair of robins bicker amongst the fallen leaves that grace her lawn.

"You have no business with those papers..."

She mutters... But then, she knows this. Just as she is sure Emma  _herself_  knows this, which begs the question of just what the younger woman thinks she's up to meddling in political affairs.

"I suppose we're about to find out..."

The brunette purrs, rising to fetch her coat.

She is smart, and she knows full well that the blonde's request for the specific documents she needs will have absolutely  _nothing_  to do with a budding interest in Storybrooke's economy, but she is also curious; Emma so rarely one to propose such obvious bait.

At least, so she had  _believed_.

The younger woman's sudden, coy flirtation the previous evening leaves her a little unsure as to just  _how_  close the Sheriff might sometimes wear her wants and emotions to the surface.

Slipping into tailored wool, she pauses for just a moment to assess and approve her reflection in the mirror that rests atop the mantlepiece, before stalking from the room with a swift swipe of her keys from within the depths of her pocket.

* * *

"Sheriff?"

The brunette's sultry purr resonates richly off the bare walls of the Station, and the blonde hides a small smirk as she detects the sharp tap of expensive heels creating an erratic crescendo down the hallway. Turning towards the artillery of regimented gray filing cabinets that stand behind her desk, she plucks a yellowed file up without even glancing at its title, and begins to leaf through its contents airily as she senses the looming shadow the Mayor casts become flesh.

"Regina?"

Bored, lazy, uninterested.

Her lip twitches as she catches the low thrum of fury this simple utterance garners from the intoxicating brunette.

Making no move to turn around, she simply places the file in her hands back into the drawer and reaches for another at random.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What do you think you're doing?..."

"...I'm sorry?"

"The tax forms... Why did you request Mr Glass let you take them?"

"... I have a perfect right to do so... I made no breech of contract simply asking to-"

"- You have a _right_ , Miss Swan, but why, I wonder, might you have the  _will_? What interest is city finance to _you!_?"

"Oh, I have a  _broad_  spectrum of interests, Madam Mayor."

The blonde replies coquettishly, and Regina glowers as she can practically _feel_  the grin the younger woman sports burning into her supple flesh, despite being accosted with nothing but dishevelled curls.

"Yes, well... Be that as it may, I see no plausible reason for you to request papers you know full well I need to sign today..."

"... Don't you?"

The Sheriff drawls, and the darker woman's teeth flash with anger as the blonde remains engrossed in whatever matter graces the pages in her hands rather than offering the floundering, flustered response to which she has grown so accustomed.

"Indeed, I don't!... Perhaps you could enlighten me...?"

An audible chuckle, and the brunette cringes as this sound alone sets the hairs that line the delicate column of her spine on end, before the younger woman promptly discards the file in her hand and drops down into an easy crouch to access the bottom drawer of the cabinet closest to her desk.

She doesn't offer any form of verbal response, but then, she doesn't really _need_  to.

Bent down the way that she is; the dark denim of her jeans rides dangerously low to expose the gentle indent of the very last vertebrae of her lower back, pale bare flesh... And silk.

Dark silk, interwoven with french lace.

Divine.

And _so_  not her style.

Dark coals flashing as she recognises expensive lingerie, the Mayor's tone is murderously silky as she breaks the curious silence that engulfs them.

"... Are you proud of yourself, Sheriff?"

"Hmmm?"

"Don't play coy with me... Your pay check might allow for such pleasures, but your taste does not... You lured me here to put on this little display... So I ask you... Are you proud of yourself now that you have paraded your spoils for all to see?"

Her words drip spite as she concludes her sentiment; her gaze transfixed on the delicate concoction peeking out above the younger woman's jeans.

Her voice catches in her throat, and she despises the fact.

Just as she despises the thoughts that spill turbulently through her muddled mind as her sex clenches hungrily upon her sordid discovery.

Emma's low laughter in response to her words does little to appease the situation; the Sheriff tickled by the brunette's concluding statement.

_Really, Regina? 'Parading' my spoils for all to see? Not really my style, 'dear'._

"Am I proud?... Well... I guess that depends..."

"...What do you mean?"

"Ha!... Well, you tell me ... Do you like what you see?"


	6. Chapter 6

_... Do you like what you see?_

Breath catching in her throat at this most  _inappropriate_  question, Regina clenches her teeth as she remains stood in front of the younger woman's desk, looking down on golden curls and coyly revealing denim.

She is at a loss of what to say.

What to do.

The _answer_  to Emma's husky inquiry is 'yes', she is distraught to discover, for however dangerous her body's reactions might be, they are nothing if not approving. Swallowing silently, she tells herself to treat this situation with the utmost caution; recognising that the blonde has played her own card, and knowing the little wretch to have little issue when it comes to their games getting dirty.

_Oh, what a choice of words._

Still, she doesn't imagine that simply turning on the sharp point of her heel and stalking out of the office is an option anymore, despite it being the most  _sensible_  course of action.

It's too late for that.

"Get up."

She growls, pursing her lips as Emma complies silently but negates to turn around; simply standing facing the filing cabinets as though waiting for further instruction.

Taking a few steps towards her prey, the brunette runs a finger over her bottom lip pensively, before speaking up with genuine curiosity.

"You've become rather  _bold_  over the last twenty-four hours, Sheriff... To what purpose are you playing this little game? What do you  _want_?"

A light chuckle at this and the Sheriff shakes her head, shrugging slim shoulders boyishly.

"It isn't obvious?"

"... Oh, my dear, discretion is not a talent of yours, this I know, but my question must then be  _why_? Why now? If we're playing some sort of game, it seems only fair that we both know the rules..."

"See, that's your issue, Madame Mayor... You can't accept the fact that I'm not out to _get_  you... Why does this have to be a _malicious_  attempt on my part? You didn't enjoy yourself last night?"

Sniffing disdainfully as she refuses to reward the younger woman with a response- her mind flashing her a peculiar voyeur's image of herself sat straddling the blonde as her orgasm had convulsed through her wonderfully; her eyes closed and her breathing ragged- she simply returns to her original question.

"Why  _now_ , Sheriff? You've never behaved in such a manner before. Excuse me for saying so, but that seems just a little bit suspect to me..."

"Well, you weren't half  _naked_  before."

Emma answers simply, shrugging once more, before turning to face the Mayor with a darkened gaze.

"I... I beg your pardon?"

"If I had  _known_  I had a flying chance in hell of anything becoming of it, I would have taught you poker or twister or fucking monopoly or something much sooner!"

"... Becoming of 'it'? Becoming of  _what_?"

"My, uh... Well, you asked me yourself last night. You called me out on my interest in you..."

The younger woman frowns, as though such a thing should be blindingly obvious.

"I called you out on what I  _presumed_  was too much to drink and- admittedly- characteristically crass behaviour..."

" _Right_... And then you broke into my house like some sort of cat burglar and forbade me to scream..."

The blonde challenges with evident amusement, and the darker woman glowers dangerously as Emma's words only serve to have her reliving their activities back in the darkened shadows of the Sheriff's bedroom.

"You were asking for it..."

"Maybe... I had little clue I was going to _get_  what I wanted, though. That  _was_  a surprise."

"What you  _wanted_?... You... Last night was a  _set up_?"

"A set up? No. Last night was Ruby and I getting tipsy and deciding that what now seems like a rather stupid idea was possibly the best thing the two of us have ever come up with combined. You didn't miss an invite, Regina, as I never once asked you to drop by... So _that_  much is on you."

"... But your interest...?"

Regina prompts; beginning to feel a little flushed as the younger woman continues to answer her in that low, dangerous tone that is so often used when the two of them clash horns, and yet warrants the speculation of if it isn't the  _same_  way she might instruct a lover in bed. The apples of the Mayor's cheeks blush scarlet as she supposes she _still_  doesn't have an answer to that most uncouth of musings; Emma's sultry drawl dampened by her own sodden underwear when the matter might have been tested.

"It's nothing  _emotional_  before you go getting all concerned."

"Miss Swan, _any_  sort of interest you might have in myself would leave me feeling concerned."

She sighs, although she is becoming slowly aware of the fact that the temperature seems to have soared in the five minutes she has been standing before the blonde.

"Oh? You have a funny way of showing it..."

"... I... Yes, well, we had been drinking. And it was late. I'm asking about before that."

She sniffs and Emma laughs quietly, cocking her head to the side.

"You're asking if I have the hots for you?"

"Worded in a slightly different manner than I might myself, but-"

"-Would that surprise you?"

"Frankly... Yes."

Regina frowns, crossing her arms self-consciously over her chest.

"Really? Why? The way  _you_  talk to  _me_ , you sound like you're a second away from ravaging me usually-"

"-I-"

"-Not that it wouldn't be a  _lot_  more fun than listening to you bitch about the immaterial."

"Sheriff... I-"

"-I'm not saying I figured you would actually go  _through_  with any heated threats or anything... Just... That they offered some food for thought."

"... You..."

But Regina stops herself from continuing as she is all too aware that Emma is slowly gaining the upper hand with each stammered reply she makes. Corralling her wayward emotions back under control, she purrs quietly; aiming to beat the younger woman at her own game.

"Food for thought... Meaning..."

"You know  _exactly_  what I mean."

The blonde counters huskily, and the darker woman nips sharply at the tip of her tongue in reprimand as she is left with the unwarranted image of the Sheriff sat behind her desk after one of the many occasions of which she speaks, whimpering, with her hand wedged sordidly down the front of her jeans.

"... I do."

"So... You asked me if I was proud of myself, and I told you it all depended on your response. You're right, it's not a move I would usually make, but then  _I'm_  not the one that initiated phase two of last night. If it was a one time, drunken thing, then fine. I'll keep the pants and take it in my stride. But don't think for a  _second_  that I'm never going to bring it up again... Oh... Not in so many words, and  _definitely_  not in public, Madame Mayor... But the next time you get up in my face in some doomed attempt to, ah,  _discipline_  me... Well, I know what  _I'll_  be thinking about... What about you?"

Green eyes flicker up impishly to meet the Mayor's own, and the brunette lets out a shuddering breath as she finds herself wanting to make good on Emma's previous suggestion that she might wish to ravage her.

_Or kill her._

It is not something she has thought on before- whatever the Sheriff might have made of their heated exchanges of opinion- but she had nevertheless come to the understanding fairly early on in their turbulent relationship that Emma... Well... Effected her  _differently_  than any of the sorry patrons under her thumb.

Skirting around the younger woman's desk so that she stands only a couple of feet away from her, Regina closes the distance with dangerous intent; moving so that she allows only an inch between her nose and the Sheriff's in a way that she has done so many times before. The blonde offers a slow smile in response, her pupils impossibly blown as she silently goads the Mayor to make her move.

Adopting the low disdain she has favoured on numerous occasions when faced with the younger woman smirking before her, the brunette scolds her wickedly

"Have you no shame, dear?... No, of course not... A  _wasted_  question on one such as yourself. Is _this_  why you continue to disobey me, Sheriff? Why you continue to  _strive_  to win my wrath? So that you might have something to think about later on? I wonder... When I struck you down in the graveyard... Did that _do_  anything for you? When I call you out on your idiocies... Do you find yourself dampening cheap cotton as you picture just how much further I might take it? Is  _this_  why you continue to be so disobedient?"

The blonde's eyes flash with a pent up anger that says more than her choked growl of the darker woman's name, and Regina raises her jaw as she considers herself entirely correct in her suggestive goading.

She finds her own excitement builds mercilessly in response and hisses quietly.

"Go on then, Miss Swan, show me what you invited me here to see... Remove those hideous jeans and let me take a look at you."

Emma needs no further coercion, and simply brings her fingers to the stiff, brass button of her Levi's and pushes them slowly down her legs; stepping out of the coarse material after removing her boots with swift efficiency.

Regina licks her lips as she drinks in expensive silk cut high up slim thighs; a pleasant improvement on the plain, green briefs favoured the previous evening.

But, then, she supposes she  _would_  say that; she had been rather pleased with herself when she purchased it.

"And  _now_... Now that we're partaking in this familiar little tradition, dear... Do you find yourself wondering what I might have in store? Are you cataloguing the intensity between the two of us for later... use?"

Emma raises her own jaw and offers the Mayor a levelled look; keeping her poise as the brunette walks her backwards a couple of steps until her ass makes contact with the cabinets behind her.

"Show me."

"Show you what?"

Regina raises a brow, before placing her hands on the cabinets; one either side of the Sheriff, leaving her trapped.

"What you do when you're thinking about me..."

This time, it's the blonde's turn to raise an eyebrow, but she swallows the initial wave of embarrassment the brunette invokes, and simply leans back a little so that the cabinets support her weight; her cool gaze level with the Mayor's.

Regina watches silently as the Sheriff trails one hand slowly down her stomach to disappear into the shadows of plush silk; the younger woman spreading her legs slightly so that the outsides of her wool-socked feet touch the insides of patent heels.

Alternating her attention between unabashed emerald and the flexing of the blonde's forearm as she moves her fingers with coy laziness, the Mayor purrs as she leans forward and whispers in the younger woman's ear

"Is this how you do it? Here in the Station? On the clock? On  _my_  time?"

"Once..."

Regina makes an involuntary noise in the back of her throat; her eyes fluttering momentarily closed as she nips lightly at the vulnerable flesh beneath the younger woman's ear.

"...Did you scream?"

"No-"

Emma smirks, regarding the brunette mischievously as her fingers move inside sodden silk

"-knocked my coffee over, though, if that makes you feel any better."

Glaring at the blonde as she threatens to change track from the beautiful tension thrumming in the air between them, Regina shuts her up wetly, before taking a step back and purring demandingly

"Show me your hand."

Frowning in confusion, the younger woman clues on to the Mayor's request with a faint blush as she withdraws her fingers from her underwear and splays them for Regina's inspection; glistening arousal catching the overheads.

"This is what I do to you?"

"Well... It doesn't hurt that you're breathing in my ear and that I have a  _fairly_  good view down your shirt from this angle-"

Angry scarlet crashes against parted lips as the brunette thrusts her own hand aggressively into the confines of silk and lace, earning herself a low mewl.

Dipping her fingers between slick folds, she smiles against soft lips as she feels just how excited their little conversation has left the Sheriff; knowing that her own underwear is now moulded to her sex wetly.

Leaning into the younger woman with a little more purpose, she bites the latter's lip as slim fingers entangle themselves into her hair.

She needs more.

It's just most curious doing this without the thrum of liquor in her veins and with the harsh light of the overheads throwing everything into stark relief.

Accosted with the well-illuminated fact that she has her fingers curled inside her arch-nemisis.

That she's a hair's breadth away from fucking Emma Swan.

A hand wandering blindly down to find the clasp of her dress pants has her deciding she's willing to make such a sacrifice, and she orders the blonde huskily to wait so that she may step out of crisp linen and save herself from having to iron as soon as she gets home.

Her request is- impatiently- met, before the elaborate lace of today's underwear is torn down slender thighs without hesitation, and the Sheriff hooks one arm around her neck while her free hand cups wanton heat with cruel promise. Thrusting her own fingers with malicious vigour, she uses her weight to slam the younger woman back against the filing cabinets to elicit a dampened cry that gets lost between her own parted lips.

Two fingers enter her in reprimand; curling up to find just the right spot to have her moaning and leaning into the blonde for support.

The purposeful grinding of the Sheriff's palm does little to help her situation, and she braces herself with the hand not working with sordid intent within the depths of Emma's lingerie, as she clings onto the filing cabinet and keeps the blonde effectively in place.

The sporadic small moans whimpered into the dark locks of her hair have her speeding up her own attack for fear that the younger woman might destroy her there and then; her tongue currently working a hot line down the latter's throat.

"Oh, fuck, Regina..."

A low growl, and she takes it as a sign that the blonde is in no better state than she is, and she deepens her ministrations in a bid to finish what she tells herself she'd never come here for in the first place.

Emma becomes a little more vocal in response, before trailing her fingers a little further north and honing in on the Mayor's sweet spot; sending the darker woman over the edge and shaking against her with a loud cry.

Gathering herself as best as possible, the brunette opens her eyes and offers the panting Sheriff a warning look, before grinding down with her palm and going in for the kill.

She thrusts her fingers three times- each accentuated by a breathy hum- before watching intently as the younger woman shudders tellingly and bites down hard on her bottom lip; her eyes tightly closed.

Swallowing, and taking a couple of steps back, Regina strives to catch her breath as Emma does the same; green eyes opening to regard her cautiously.

"Don't cross me again, Sheriff..."

The Mayor growls, pulling on her pants with obscene grace given their situation.

"... Or you'll pay for it."

"...I'm counting on it."


End file.
